SweetlyBad (6 page)

It shouldn’t have bothered him that Erica lied to him. Butwhen one of the things he’d liked best about her—herforthrightness—disappeared, it didn’t please him. He certainly shouldn’t havebeen irritated that she’d intentionally hid her problems.

Drew glanced around her garage, hoping for inspiration onhow to help. He knew fuck-all about cars. But he knew women. And this oneneeded help even if she wouldn’t admit it.

He shook himself. Why in the hell should he help her? Hecouldn’t help himself.

Yet she’d given him a place on a cot in an air-conditionedroom when he’d done nothing but insult her. She’d only asked him to clean upafter himself. When was the last time anyone had helped him simply to help?

They’d always wanted to get closer to him so they’d have abetter chance of making Adept level from his brother. Or they’d wanted diamondsand a ticket to a show. There was also the game of seeing who could keep himinterested the longest. His recent fiancée had held that title only because hismother and brother forced him to keep his engagement for political reasons. He’dknown he wouldn’t last a year with her.

“Can I sweep or something?” he asked.

What inAerhad come over him? He didn’t sweep!

She glanced up at him from over the computer monitor. Aquiet sigh slipped from her mouth. “You can just stay out of the way.”

“Am I in the way now?”

“No, but you’re distracting me.”

He doubted he was distracting her the way hewantedto distract her. “Um, okay,” he said before stepping back into the garage andout of the way.

Drew returned to the storage room with the intention ofsleeping. But the hopelessly bent cot didn’t look comfortable. A back door he’dbarely noted last night looked like the best bet for removing the mangledcontraption. Drew grabbed hold of the sheets and blanket he’d flung on thething. He balled them up and hurled them toward a spare plastic chair. Then hedragged the stripped bed to the door.

It took two shoves to get the back entrance open, as if ithad been sealed shut for ages. Drew brought the cot around the garage to wherehe’d seen bags of trash piled against the building. He paused at the corner fora look inside. Erica stared at the front of a truck, facing away. Her shoulderswere hunched. Each breath she took was heavy and obvious. She looked like awoman with many worries.

A pickup pulled into the drive behind him. Drew steppedinside and hid around the corner where he wouldn’t be visible to the customer.Erica cast a glance at the parking lot. Her frame stiffened.

“Maybe you should just have me work on that,” a man called amoment before a car door closed. “I’ll have to fix it later anyway.”

The ex-boyfriend. Drew reached for magic—visualizing afinger slicing through the aether. He snagged a thread of Air magic from withinthe swirling energy coating everything, hardly thinking his actions through.Drew positioned his palms just so and thrust. A dull thud echoed back into hisear. Satisfaction spread his lips broad. A smack in the ass with a gust offocused air was exactly what the douchebag had needed.

“What the…fuck?” the male griped from the ground.

Erica faced her ex. Her eyebrows drifted to the middle ofher forehead. “Are you okay, Jared?”

Washeokay? Drew wanted to shout at her. The guy hadinsulted her. He didn’t deserve her concern.

Yet…she’d given Drew her concern when he’d insulted her aswell. It was part of why he liked her.

“I’mfine.” The guy came into view beyond thegarage’s outer doors.

Erica took a step back. “I hope you came here to do morethan taunt me.”

“Your father has been dead for two years. It’s not hisgarage any longer. It’s yours. Besides, he would want you secure and happy.”

“I am happy—”

“You can’t be happy having to get up every morning and come intothis…place.”

The derisive pause in his speech made his opinion obvious.The guy wasn’t a fan of the garage. Clearly he didn’t intend to buy it so hecould keep it. He wanted to be rid of the competition. But if the competitionwas screwing up cars, why was he worried? Unless…

Drew focused on Jared’s face, looking for evidence oftreachery. While it wasn’t readily visible in the rugged features, Jared didn’tlook the part of a charitable benefactor.

Good girl. Drew smiled in the corner, where neitherindividual had noted him.

“This was just a friendly conversation, Erica.” Jared’sdroning was thick with condescension. “I’m sorry you feel it was harassment.I’ll just have to do this the official way. You’ll hear from my lawyer with anoffer—one I’m sure you won’t want to refuse.”

That was it.

Drew stepped out from the corner. “Can the theatrics, buddy.She’s not selling even if you leave a horse head in her bed. And she asked youto stop harassing her. Now I suggest you go before I have to help you go.”

The guy twisted. He eyed Drew up and down. A slow smilespread across his lips. Drew had been measured and found wanting. But whatJareddidn’t know was the ace he had in his back pocket.

Jared sent a disgusted look behind him at Erica. “You’rehaving your customers fight your battles for you now?”

“Is this a battle, Jared? I thought it was just a friendlyconversation.”

Score one for Erica.

“It became a battle when you brought others into it,” Jaredsaid.

“He’s acting on his own. Just like you. Now please leave.”

“What makes you think I’m a customer?” Drew put in beforethe guy could move. “I could be her boyfriend.”

The snort the guy gave made Drew angry for Erica. And thenJared made it worse with his follow-up. “She could never get a guy like you.”

Strange. Considering she’d alreadyhadhim.

Drew resisted the urge to blast the guy back to his truck.The only way he was able to speak without growling was at a cautious pace. “Whyis that?”

“C’mon, buddy. Can’t you tell? She needs to lose a fewpounds. You should have seen her when I was banging her. She was smoking then.”

“She’s smoking now.” Drew would never have admitted itunless he’d been goaded into it. His reputation was such that he always wentfor models. But he’d always had a soft spot for women with a little meat ontheir bones.

Jared let out a raucous laugh. “Are you blind, man? She’s aporker.”

“I’ve lost twelve pounds since we were together, Jared,”Erica said, as calm as calm could be. “So you were porking a porker all along.And need I remind you how you used to smack my ass and tell me I needed togainweight? You bought me ice cream weekly. So shut the hell up and get thefuckout of my garage before I call the sheriff.”

A southern twang from a Granite Stater? Drew had enough of thedick. He called on Air once more, focusing another high-powered blast at theguy’s slight paunch.

Dust puffed out of Jared’s T-shirt when the magical Airstrike hit. He careened onto his back in a sprawl of long, jean-coated limbs.The guy spent two seconds blinking up at the blue sky.

Drew walked across the garage to the button he hoped wouldlower the door. He bashed the big red disc, smiling when the metal began itscrawl down the tracks.

“Hey!” Jared jabbed a finger at the thing as if to say itwas on course to cut him in half.

“Might want to move, buddy,” Drew said.

Jared crab-walked back in time to save his knees fromgetting bashed. He popped to his feet, glaring through the windows. Drew turnedhis back on the guy and found Erica glaring. Her closed-off pose hinted she wasangry. He was tempted to peel her arms from her sides simply to lower herluscious breasts to a level that wouldn’t have him fantasizing about them nude.There probably wasn’t a single pose she could hold that would save him fromthat.

“How in the hell…” She shook her head as though sufferingfrom disbelief.

That was when Drew realized he’d used magic in front of twovanilla humans. Twice. If either worked out what had happened, he’d be inserious trouble. Then again, his mother had already marked him as a roguewitch. There was little more serious than that.

There was something not quite right about what had justhappened. Erica was sure of it. Jared had spontaneously fallen. Twice. The guyhad never fallen the entire time she’d known him. Not even in love.

She suspected Drew had something to do with it. Was itpossible that people really could move things with their minds? Because hehadlooked furious right before Jared fell on his ass. If looks could kill…

Blah. Erica had work to do. She didn’t have time to ponderwild theories about her customer.

She ignored the thunk of Jared closing his truck door.Though her confidence was shaken by both visitors, she wouldn’t let it affecther work. There was a brake line to fix. Erica needed her entire concentrationto make sure it was done properly. She couldn’t afford another broken-down carand unhappy customer. She got to work.

“About Boston.” Drew. She’d forgotten about him while shechecked the car’s fluids. “Like I said, I can’t pay you right now—” Drew’swords cut off in a strangled choke.

Erica whirled around and found his eyes bulging out of theirsockets. She bounced into action, charging across the garage. Though hecouldn’t breathe, he wasn’t grasping at his throat. Instead he lurched towardthe garage door. That made it easier for her to grab him beneath the rib cage.She gave a good heave, hoping to dislodge whatever he’d eaten.

Drew slammed into her as if he’d been pushed. They went overin a tangle of limbs. Erica’s head impacted against the concrete as Drew’sweight bore down on her, his limbs rigid like plaster casts. Though she sawstars, she was coherent enough to hear the garage door rise.

How had that happened?

“Haizea,” an unfamiliar male growled at the edge of theroom. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity foryears.”

“I’m not even surprised it was your own mother who put thehit out on you.”

“Err-rrica,” Drew stuttered in between gasps. “Lift.”

Lift? Liftwhat? She couldn’t move with himflattening her!

His weightdoubled. The pressure on her rib cagewould surely puncture something tender and important if she didn’t escape.

“This is for fucking Hannah four hours before our wedding.Youfuck,” the unfamiliar male ground out.

“Li-if-t,” Drew repeated, his breathing moreconstricted than ever.

Black spots obscured her vision. Erica’s mind was sluggishfrom the pain. Between the dark blotches she could just make out a scrawny maletwo feet ahead and a foot to the right. He rolled onto the balls of his feet,toward them as if he were a rocking horse. The maniacal gleam in his eye wasfixed on Drew.

Erica didn’t know how he was accomplishing it but thestranger appeared to be doing something to Drew. And in turn doing something toher.

Frantically she searched for a way out of the situation. Shecouldn’t budge Drew. Not even to roll him off. And he didn’t seem capable ofdoing anything apart from gasping for air and weighing her down. If only therewas a way to lift him off her. With how much he weighed her down, she’d needhydraulics to do it…

Hydraulics.Thatmust be what Drew meant bylift!

Their attacker stood on the left arm of garage bay three’shydraulic lift. She only needed to reach the button to send him on a littleride. Erica tossed her head about, searching for something to throw. Pliers laydiscarded inches to the left.

She worked her arm out from beneath the insane weight of theordinarily trim guy. Stretching her limb against the resistance pulled at leastone muscle but the discomfort was worth it when she curled her fingers aroundthe metal. She slipped it to her side and eyed the distance to her target.She’d never pitched a softball flat on her back with a monstrous weight bearingdown. But something told her this was literally life or death.

Erica pitched the pliers. The tool hurdled through the air.The pliers grazed the button before falling to the floor with a clank. The liftstarted up, knocking the stranger off balance. His arms pinwheeled three timesas he fell. Each revolution of his flailing limbs was closer to the grounduntil he smacked his head on the lift’s right arm. Down he crumpled, landingatop her flux welder with a dull thud.

Erica drew in a long breath. The action was much easier…Probably because Drew didn’t weigh as much as King Kong any longer.

She nudged him off her, careful not to rattle any more bonesthan necessary. He didn’t so much as snuffle. Had he passed out? Or… Ericachecked his neck for a pulse and found it pounding against her finger.

Cautiously she got to her feet, half concerned she’d brokensomething of her own and half worried the slumped male under garage bay three’slift might wake up.